to serve. i know the senator will serve, without any deck in my mind -- without any doubt in my mind, death that diversity is what has made nevada what it is today. those folks who live and work in my district note what is like to live paycheck to paycheck. it has been a tough time in this country into this district, and i think marco will help bring the economy back and strengthen the country must strengthen the military. i like to say that the reason i have taken so long as we are now threeoint where we have major candidates. i think marco is the right person for me, the right person for this state, any right person for this country. folks, i really appreciate his willingness to serve.

because it is not easy. --t i also like about marco he had a choice. he could stay in the senate, but if he is done, if he does not win the presidency, he is done with politics. a guy'swhat i want, commitment to run and not be afraid to lose a race and move forward. i do not think he will lose that race. beingwith senator heller at his side, i would like to introduce the senator now. ok, thank you for being here. let's push marco over the top. thanks. [applause] mr. hutchison: we've got one of the great nevada champions. who isthe great leaders going to introduce senator rubio.

let me leave you with this thought. he is the one who can win the election in november. he is the one who hillary clinton or bernie sanders does not want to face. he will unite the republican party. we talked about the children of the reagan revolution now ready to stand up. [applause] mr. hutchison: the other thing he does that no other candidate can do is he can write an , andiography, american son vegas. seven, growing up [applause] marco rubio grew up here. he knows nevada. marco rubio is about nevada. marco rubio's family, they are over here in the bullpen, stand up. [applause] mr. hutchison: senator rubio

once told me he has more family members and nevada that he does in florida. have as nevada and we great nevada leader who is a friend of mine and loves this country, and is a great supporter of senator rubio. heller.ator dean [applause] he's got a friend here. is this guy great or what? it's great to be here with mark, thank you. thank you everybody, what a wonderful, wonderful evening. what a warm las vegas welcome. i'm thenews is this -- one guy standing between you and marco rubio. i will tell you what, i will make it short. but i want to tell you a story. last night as i was coming home

i phoned my wife and said i was going to be stumping this weekend for marco rubio. she said, "it is about time." [applause] mr. heller: it took me a little bit longer than my wife. she was with marco from day one. marco knew that, as others can attest, and it took me a little bit longer, but this is marco-country we are in today. [applause] mr. heller: so, it is great to be here, great to have the senator here, and i want to remind you of something i said earlier and that is there is a reason why marco rubio gets the support of his colleagues back in washington dc. he is the real deal and that is what america needs. [applause] people try to say this is a three-man show.

this is a two-man show. it is donald and marco rubio. that is the two choices. i guarantee you there is nobody that understands this country, understands the city, understand this state better that marco rubio. he will become the next president of the united states. so let's here, we practiced this earlier. let's get him up your. marco! marco! marco! [applause] [♪ ac/dc's "thunderstruck" ♪] mr. rubio: thank you, thank you, i appreciate it.

thank you very much, thank you. thank you very much, i appreciate it. i didn't know you are introducing me, i just thought someone was calling my name. is that for me or are they playing a game in the pool? i want to thank you for being a part of this program. all welcome, because we are grateful. it is great to be back in southern nevada, great to be back in las vegas. [applause] mr. rubio: and it is great to be here and this is such an important election. i'm so happy nevada played such an important role. it was just a few years ago that this began, where nevada plays a critical role. yesterday the democrats were in election they had an between a socialist, bernie sanders -- when you call someone a socialist they usually get

offended. bernie says it in his commercials. but at least he admits it. if you want to be a socialist, there are dozens of the socialist countries here if you want to be a socialist, moved to a socialist country. we want to be the united states of america. [applause] course, the other candidate is under fbi investigation. be a socialist than under fbi investigation. but she thinks she is above the law. she put incredibly important classified material on your computer, and i think her plan was to get elected and pardon herself, but she is not going to get elected. [applause] i know that most of

these elections are usually a choice between two political parties, democrats against republicans, or in this case socialist against republicans, or between names on a ballot, and that is what you are going to have to choose. you are going to have a caucus, and you are going to have a choice between names, so that is still a part of it. but this election is much more than a choice between names. where youreferendum are going to be asked to choose not only who will be in charge of america, but what kind of country will america be in the 21st century, because that is what is at stake here. 2016 is no ordinary election. 2016 is a turning point in the history of the greatest nation on earth. there are only two ways forward for us. america will ever -- will either be greater than it has ever been, or a great nation in decline.

those are the only two choices between us. onstay on the road we are right now, we will become a great nation in decline. we will become the first americans who leave their children worse off than themselves. that has never happened in the history of this country. that is exactly what will happen we wake up to, the news of a president sanders or president clinton. so, we cannot lose this election. i'm here today to ask you to talk us -- ask you to caucus for me. if you know many me, we will win this election. [applause] me, we willminate win this election. [applause] mr. rubio: of the people left in this race, no one can unite this party more than i can.

if we are still fighting, we are going to lose. if we are still divided, we are going to lose. we have to be united if we are going to win, and if you nominate me i will unite the republican party and the conservative movement. [applause] mr. rubio: but we are going to just united, we are going to grow it. that means we are going to take our principles, our message, and take it to people who have not voted for us and a longtime. come to believe that republicans and conservatives do not care about people like them. they don't care about people that are struggling, they don't care about people making it project to paycheck. we care deeply, i care deeply, because i grew up paycheck to paycheck. someone asked me, what does that mean?

means you write a check on wednesday but you know you will not get paid until set -- until friday, so you dated saturday. that is paycheck to paycheck. then they said, you know that is a crime. i said, i didn't say i did that. but i have lived paycheck to paycheck. married, it was tough. we are going to take our message to people were struggling. only waytand that the to help them is to embrace free enterprise. free enterprise is the greatest economic system and the history of the world. [applause] are going to take our message to young americans who are struggling under student loan debt. [applause] are you cheering for

student loan debt or because you have student loan's? you know i care so much? because i had a student loan, it was more than $100,000. the only way i could pay it off was to write a book, called "american son." now available in paper book -- paperback. about four years ago i didn't -- i only had about $100,000 in student loans. when we first got married it was one of the biggest items on our budget. it was over $1000 a month. i never met sally made but i paid her a lot of money. that's why are the only republican running who talks about student loan debt and has real solutions. by the way, they are bipartisan solutions.

we are going to take our message to families raising their children, because jenna and i are raising our children now in the 21st century. we know how hard it has gotten, in this time, in this age, to raise your children with the right values instead of the values they try to ram down our throat all the time in the popular culture. [applause] mr. rubio: so if you nominate me, we will unite this party and we will grow it. we will take our message to people who haven't heard from us in a long time. debtis the faith of the face of the new conservative movement. very well in south carolina and i want to thank the

team for what they did. [applause] mr. rubio: as somebody asked me, one of the journalists, are you concerned? how are you going to reach out to minorities? well, just this afternoon i was on stage receiving the endorsement of an indian-american governor from south carolina who was endorsing a human american senator from i was standing next to the african-american senator from south carolina. that sounds pretty minority to meet. me.o [applause] mr. rubio: we are the party of everyone. we are going to grow this party and take our message to everyone. what we stand for is better for all americans, we have to put in the time to convince people of that, and we will. because if you can go to people and say i lived how you live now, i have faced what you are now facing, it gives you the credibility to say i want you to embrace free enterprise because

it is better for you, it was better for me, and it is the right way forward for america. [applause] mr. rubio: so, if you nominate me, we are going to win and i want you to know exactly what we are going to do. thing i will do when i am president is you're going to have a president who swears to up and end up with of the united states, unlike the president we have now. i will actually mean it. [applause] mr. rubio: you will have a president that believes and projects and defense your first amendment right, not just do believe in what you want but too live out your faith in every aspect of your life. when il have a president am elected that defends your second amendment rights to protect yourself and your

families. [applause] mr. rubio: and here is one that is really important. you will have a president that understands the federal government is supposed to be a very limited government. its powers are clearly defined in the constitution. if it is not one of those on the list, the federal government does not have that power. nowhere in the constitution does it say the federal government should own 83% of the state of nevada. [applause] mr. rubio: it is supposed to be a limited government at the federal level. we will bring it back to its proper place. you will have a president who understands that every issue in america does not have a federal government solution. many of them do not even have a government solution.

-- you will have a president who understands what you do as parents is more important than what you do in politics. you will have a president who understands that what happens in your house is often much more important than what happens in the white house. [applause] and you will have a president that understands, protects theand 10th amendment. [applause] have plenty of teachers in my family, that is why i know we do not need a federal department of education, because we do not need a national school board. [applause] mr. rubio: we will return to the constitution, and by the way, that means not just justice

scalia, rest his soul, or any vacancies when i am president will be filled by someone who understands that the constitution should be applied based on its original meaning, not based on what you want to be at any given moment. [applause] number two, you will have a president that believes in free enterprise. i mentioned that a moment ago. you know what i know free enterprise works? because people get on boats to come here to get away from places that do not have free enterprise. [applause] mr. rubio: free enterprise works because it is the only economic model and the history of the world where you can make poor people richer without making rich people poorer. where you can lift everybody up without link anyone down.

-- without why pulling anyone down. and we are going to repeal obamacare. [applause] mr. rubio: don't say polo, i hate that game. when i am president it will be a punishable by five years to play marco polo. that's a joke. the presses here, they will think it's real. -- the press is here, they will -- think it is

real. the world has become a very dangerous place. there is a lunatic and north korea who has nuclear weapons. i have said is a couple times that the debate and they got mad at me, but he knows exactly what he is doing. he is in keeping us safe. the guy in north korea is a lunatic because he is the son of a dictator. sons of dictators are dangerous people because they have never been punished, never been told no, never got to timeout. guy is a lunatic with nuclear weapons. the chinese government is expanding their military faster than anyone ever has. -- oureal our input inventions.

vladimir putin is sowing instability. iran is about to get $100 billion thanks to obama's deal. and radical islamic jihadists are spreading, especially isis. they now have affiliates in over a dozen countries. isis is a dangerous group. they set people on fire in cages. they sell little girls off as brides, at 10 years old. they need to be defeated. do you know what barack obama has done? he has gutted our military. we will soon have the smallest army since the end of world war ii here we will have the smallest navy in 100 years. in we will have the smallest air force in our history. is 27 years old.

the pilots are younger than the planes. it is very dangerous and unfair to men and women in uniform. we are still putting them in harms way, but with older equipment. with less people fighting alongside them. and with rules of engagement that do not allow them to win. [applause] by the way, defense spending is not the reason we have a debt. defense spending is the first thing we should spend money, it is the reason why we have a federal government. when i am president of the united states, listen to me clearly on this because this is important, when i am president of the united states we are going to undertake a reagan-style rebuild of the u.s. military. [applause] and when i am president we are going to have a

real war on terror, not this fake work. -- fake war. the best military in the world is going to destroy them. and if we capture any of them alive, they are not getting a court hearing in manhattan, they do not have the right to remain silent, they are going to guantanamo. [applause] mr. rubio: and in guantanamo, we are going to find out everything they know. [applause] mr. rubio: it we are going to take care of our veterans. we are not doing that now. you know with the headline in "usa today" was this week? i'm paraphrasing, but a red, calls to be a -- va suicide

hotline went to voicemail. do you think anyone will be fired over that? they might get a bonus, they might get promoted. the va and you are not doing a good job, you will be fired. [applause] by the way, if you are a veteran or a loved one of yours has served or is serving serving, did you read your and syndicate thank you -- you raise your hand so we could thank you? [applause] mr. rubio: here's what i want you to know. when i am president of the yourd states, you can take benefits to any hospital or any dr. you want to go to.

and let me just add this. our veterans when they come home, they do not stop serving. many become police officer's, firefighters, first responders. i'm so tired of seeing negative articles about the police. we thank our police officers, we thank our firefighters for what they do to us -- do for us. [applause] mr. rubio: we had a lot of work to do, but if we do the things i just talked about, if we return to a federal government that is limited by the constitution, if we reimburse free enterprise, if we build and rebuild our national security, in essence, if we act like america again, then the 21st century will be better than the 20th century, and our future will be better than our history.

[applause] mr. rubio: that is within our reach. but we have to do it now. we cannot get this election wrong. we can't afford to elect someone like hillary clinton. hillary clinton is not qualified to be the commander-in-chief of the united states. she is not. on the 11th of september men lost their lives in benghazi. she lied to their families. anyone who lies to the families of people who have lost their lives in service to our country can never be the commander-in-chief of the united states of america. [applause] mr. rubio: we have a lot of work

to do. but we have to do it, because what is at stake is the essence of the most important nation and all of human history. is reason we are so special because the people who did -- people who came before us did their part. how me times people get tired of hearing it, i have to say it. it is the reason i entered public service and the reason i am running for president. i/o a debt to this country i will never be able to repay. a debt to this country i will never be able to repay. my parents were born in cuba. hey, there was a cuban today in arkansas, that is awesome.

nothing, here with they didn't know anyone, they barely spoke english. the first words my father learned were, "i'm looking for a job." they struggled. me,s later they admitted to we were discouraged. but they persevered. they kept at it. less than 10gh, years after they arrived, my parents owned a home. my dad was just a bartender, and they owned a home in a safe and stable neighborhood. like everyone else there were ups and downs and good and bad. one of the reasons i like coming to las vegas is it reminds me that i learned a lot about the american dream. -- for a used to be couple years, they came to us and said, we have an opportunity

for you, you can be a manager of an apartment building. that was the best years of our lives, as i look back. they learned how to do it. units,to these apartment they open a hole in the wall and they combined it, and we lived there. but life is a series of ups and downs. so one morning, these new owners bodybuilding, knocked on the door, and said you have seven days to move out and their lives were turned upside down. hotels inint the miami beach were not doing well, so my father could not find a job bartending again and they had a difficult choice to make. they really shielded us from that. i remember the moving trucks backing up. we had to find a place to live, it was quite a scramble.

in january, 1979, for the second or third time in their life, my parents suck out to find a second chance. by then they were in their 50's. it was not easy, but they had to do it. 1979, my father flew by himself, leaving his family, to las vegas. he was searching for a job. it was hard here, too. he struggled to find work, but then he found it. mored been a bartender for than 20 years in miami beach and the only job he could find was a assistant to a bartender. man had to start from scratch carrying buckets of ice for a 21-year-old bartender who would ask him for help ask and drinks because my dad knew more about it than he did. but my dad was not prideful. that is what he had to do it as

what he was willing to do. [applause] but he persevered, and he worked hard, and within six months they had realized he was a good bartender, and he was hired to be a bartender. [applause] so in may of that year, he got a few days off, flew to miami to get the rest of us and we moved here in july or june of 1979. my family started a new, here in southern nevada. i had never seen mountains before. it looked like cardboard cutouts. my skin had never been so dry. [laughter] but it was the place that allowed us to find the american dream all over again. nevadaas and southern will always be a place of new beginning and second chances and a new start.

[applause] mr. rubio: and we lived here for six years. from third grade to eighth grade, i would sit on the porch of our home for many days. our grandfather would live with us. he wore a suit every day, he had norton go, all he did was play -- he had read nowhere to go, all he did was play bingo and read. but the one thing my grandfather instilled in all of us was how blessed i was. when he was a young boy, he had big dreams, but his dreams became impossible. he had polio, he had no political connections.

he lives in a society we couldn't get ahead unless you knew the right people. but what he left me with before he passed away was the realization that i happen to be a citizen of the one country on earth where it doesn't matter where you are starting out. it doesn't matter what your parents did for a living. you could do whatever your talent let you be. he was a bartender and she was a maid. i could be anything i was willing hard to become. [applause] while i share that -- why do i share this story with you? that's not just my story, that is our story. that is the story of our people. my point is, i do not know your

personal story, but i know enough about america and we arens to know this -- all but a generation or two removed from someone who did what my parents did for me what your parents is for you. -- parents did for you. but i'm confident your father gave up everything so that you could be everything he never could. i'm confident your mother gave up her dreams and hopes so you could have opportunity she never had. or maybe that's what your grandparents did for your parents. or maybe that is what you're doing for your kids right now. maybe you are the bartender or the maid. [applause] and here's the thing. makes core, that is what us special.

every country in the world has rich people, and we don't begrudge rich people, we celebrate success in this country. whore proud of americans work hard and achieve financial success. [applause] but what makes us special is the millions of people who know they are never going to get rich. that is not what they are trying to do. when you become a bartender or parents did, my they knew they were not going to become millionaires. they did it because they wanted to make enough money to get a home and live with dignity and give their children a chance to be anything they want to be. that is what makes us special. that is what makes our country different. that is what makes america unique, and that is called the american dream, and that is what

we are losing. that is what we will lose if we lose this election. why was it even possible in the first place? america was not special by accident. it was special because of what the americans before us were willing to do. in this country has confronted great challenges. there was never a generation of americans who had it easy, ever. whether it was declaring independence from the greatest empire in the world or surviving a certain -- surviving a civil war. was either the first world war, or the second world war, or the vietnam war, or the gas lines, or watergate, we have never had it easy. americans have never had it easy. but each generation before us confronted their problems. they didn't leave their problems for their kids, they solve their problems.

each generation before us embrace their opportunities, and is why for over 200 years in this country, parents have always left their kids better off than themselves. now it is our turn. has come for this generation to do its part, and here's what i want you to know. if you vote for me and i am elected president, this generation will do its part. [applause] >> marco! marco! me rubio: if you elect president, i will be president of all americans, which means i will not continue against one another to win an election. ask one group of americans to hate it be angry at another group of americans. [applause] i will work on behalf

of everyone, even the people who do not vote for me. even the people who say nasty things about me on twitter. too.l cut their taxes because if you want to be president of the united states than you have to love all the american people, even the ones who do not love you back. [applause] mr. rubio: you elect me president of the united states, we will confront our challenges. we will reimburse all the things that made us special. we will reimburse the embrace then -- re- constitution. us, theyory right of will say that we to get our part -- we too did our part. we, who live in

the early years of the 21st , live in a troubling and challenging time. and we almost got it wrong. then we remembered who we were. remembered what america was and we rose up and confronted our challenges. it we rose up and embraced our opportunity. was done,ur work history will say of this generation that because we did what needed to be done, our children became the freest and most prosperous americans who ever lived. [applause] and it will say of us that because we did what needed to be done, the american dream did not just survive, it reached more people and changed more lives than ever before. and it will say that because we be done, theed to 21st century became a new american century, even better

than a 20th century we leave behind. when our work was done, we will be able to say to ourselves and our children that we left for our children what americans always leave their children. whatft for our children our parents left for us. the single greatest nation in the history of all mankind. that is why i need your vote. i need your vote on tuesday. thank you and good night. thank you. [applause] ♪

[♪ mercyme's "greater" ♪] >> since the start of this campaign, only one network has taken you on the road to the white house should to visiting -- the white house. to visiting diners and iowa. and south carolina, the republican race has narrowed it the democratic -- narrowed. the democratic race has -- and then we move on to the multistate primaries and caucuses in mid-march. this race is getting underway. you can follow it here on the c-span network, online at c-span.org and on c-span radio.

>> veterans affairs secretary robert mcdonald is on capitol hill tuesday to testify on the 2017 the a budget -- the 2017 the a budget. you can see it live on c-span3. proposed changes to the defense department's health care changes. you can see that life starting at 2:30 p.m. eastern on c-span3. >> how can we best get people to pay attention to wasteful spending? we can to find things that are interesting and easy to understand, because the government is so large. an organization has to cut through a lot of noise and the other things going on. numbers -- members of congress talking about the wonderful things are doing and getting people more involved to make it more personal so they understand the impact on them and their families and children and

grandchildren. >> sunday night on two and a, the president of citizens against government waste talks about his organizations efforts to bring attention to wasteful spending. they publish the book which compiles a list of government programs. thet was called congressional pork busters coalition. they came with us -- they came up with us the term porkbarrel spending. thetarted the take book -- pig book. every year that we can find your marks in the appropriations bills, sometime around april or may. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span q and a.

>> every election cycle reminds us how it is -- how important it is for every citizen to be informed. >> it is a great way for us to stay informed. >> a lot of c-span fans on the hill. >> my colleagues saying i saw you on c-span. >> there is so much that c-span does to make sure people outside of the beltway knows what is going on inside of it. senator ted cruz spoke to supporters at a rally in las vegas. radio talkshow host lynn back madein -- glenn beck introductory remarks. this is an hour and 45 minutes. glenn beck: hi, everybody. out, itld before i came

is nevada, not nevada. i know. please, have a seat, have a seat. thank you so much for coming out. i want to start with the question of, why are we all here today? why are you here today? help ted win. ted cruz. glenn beck's here, you're the one. we're here for the constitution of the united states of america, that's what we're here for. we're not here to hero worship, we aren't here to see a celebrity. we're here for the constitution of the united states of america. when the president becomes president, when ted stands up to take the oath, it will not be, i promise the rich pay their fair share. i promise to make sure that gays get married or don't get married. i promise to do this or that.

what he says is i swear to protect and defend the constitution of the united states of america. [applause] glenn beck: and it is high time we have a president that does just that. that looks for things -- you know, bernie sanders is connecting with a lot of people because he has diagnosed the problem. his solution is poppycock, but what he says is the problem is exactly right. they talk about fairness. what they are really saying to america is equal justice. equal justice. i want to know that if i am at the bottom of the ladder, i have the same chance to make it as the guy at the top of the ladder. just because my name may be on a big tall gold building, no one

in particular i am thinking of, just because my name is on the building doesn't mean i get justice different from you, that i don't have access more than you. that is basic fairness, or as our american documents say, equal justice under the law. and that is really important. a lot of people are angry right now. i'm a little angry with what is going on. what we have done is perverted our entire system. we have perverted our republic to where it means nothing anymore. if i did some of the things or you did some of the things politicians are doing in washington, we would be in jail and that is why we are angry, because we want equal justice. if i did what hillary clinton did, i would not be standing here today and that is why

hillary clinton should be running for president of cellblock six and not the president of the united states. [applause] glenn beck: that's equal justice. i look today to some of the exit polls out of south carolina. and i am telling you, we are in trouble. people made fun of me and -- the gop mocked me in 1999. and i said, you have to listen to me. please, read the words of osama bin laden. there will be blood, bodies on the streets, and this city will have his name on it. the signature will be osama bin laden and the republicans, all they did was say i was trying to help clinton win. clinton in the polls. i said, what are you doing? listen to what the man says and take people at their word. i was mocked in 2006 when i said we are headed for a crisis in the banking and housing sector.

for two years i lost stations, i lost listeners am a because i would not shut up because it only made sense. nobody wanted to listen to it we have a crash in 2008. anybody who agreed with me that a caliphate was coming, crazy. caliphate, the people on television could not even pronounce the caliphate and look at it now. now people say, of course it happened. it was only common sense at the time. please hear me. last call, america. last call. right now, people are confused and they do not know where to run. you never make good decisions when you're angry, when you're hungry, when you are broke, when you feel there are no options, you never make a good decision. i cannot tell you if i ever said

, "i was so angry today and i made the best decision of my life." we must rinse ourselves of the anger and control the anger, control the feelings of betrayal. and look where to run. and our questions are, these are our options. socialism. bernie sanders is saying let's run to socialism. it doesn't work, it has failed. number two, two places. i have got to put hillary clinton -- i put her in prison but i also put her in the social list condition and the status quo. it is working for me and my family. there are varying degrees of that.

there is also the status quo of i will make the deal. i will go with the gang of eight. the status quo also is marco rubio. and this is where our betrayal comes from. if there is anyone who knows it, it is you guys. how sick and tired of you nationally and you have just had it. the assembly and the senate and the governor. if you give us all three of those things, we will do amazing things like raise your taxes. i can get that from the democrats. what did you vote for? who are these guys? that is why we feel betrayal. that is the status quo. that leads to revolution. leads to more betrayal and more anger. america does not want a revolution. then you have, "i'll fix it." this is a thing i warned about when i was in fox. the next guy who comes in, he will take the power and add more to it.

today, donald trump tweeted about the owners of the chicago cubs and said, i've heard they are donating money against me. "they better be careful, they have a lot to hide." when we are talking about bully tactics, we have lost who we are. there is no making america great again. because what makes america great, two things. america is great because america is good. if we fail to be good, we lose. [applause] glen beck: the other thing that makes america great is not a president, but we the people that make america great again. we the people, with the government off our back, with a president who says, i will clear all of this government regulation out of your lives to

unleash you. to make america great again. [applause] glenn beck: and then the last choice we have, as people are concerned, where do i run, where do i go? the last choice you have is your first choice. the constitution of the united states of america. it is something we have not tried in a long time. but it is the shelter of the storm. i know that because of this book. [applause] glenn beck: this book confused me for a long time. i did not know -- let me start at the beginning. george washington is my hero. george washington is a man who makes me want to be the better man, he's a man who makes me believe you can be a better man.

he is a man who puts things for me into perspective, that your whole life really is about service, it is not about you. it is not about your name in life. it is not about fame or fortune. it is about service to others in a greater cause. george washington, his life of service started when he was 13-years-old. at 13-years-old, he knew what he wanted to do and think goodness he did not do it. he wanted to serve as a sailor in the royal navy. and he actually joined the navy. in those days, you could go down to the ships and go on and be like, "i am in the navy." and he joined the navy and took his trunk and he brought it up and set it there on the deck of the english ships and then he listened to his mother, who was down by the gang plank and she

was making a scene and she was like "oh george, please, no, don't leave your mother, no." and all the guys on the ship, i imagine, were standing there going, i can see why you want to go to sea. and he sat there and he listened to her for a while, and he picked up his trunk and he walked down the gang plank and he put it next to his mom and he said, mother, if this is where you need me, this is where i shall stay. his days of service and self-sacrifice started at an early age. he did not want to be president of the united states. it is the last thing he wanted to do. he wanted to be a farmer. that is all he wanted to do. just to form his own land, mount vernon. but first, he had to serve in the military.

they asked him to be the general. he did not want to be the general. he thought he would be a bad general, and he was. up until the crossing of the delaware. for six months, he lost every battle. in fact, the troops, we had 20,000 troops in july. by the time he crossed the delaware, less than 2000 were left. he was bad. everybody was against him. he did not want to do it, but he did it. when the articles of confederation were weak, and the articles of confederation were falling apart, because they were not strong enough, our founders believed in a very weak, central government. but it was too weak, and all of the states were arguing with each other. and everything we had fought for as americans was about to fall apart and go away.

george washington was finally on his farm, and in the middle of the night, one rainy night, a horse rode through the gates and the rider dismounted and got off of his horse and knocked on the door of mount vernon. and george washington, a simple farmer, walked to the door. and the man said, general, we need you, sir. you have to come back to philadelphia. the articles of confederation are falling apart. the nation will not last. everything that we fought for is going to be lost, sir. nobody will come. we need a convention. we need a convention of the state's, we need to put together a new constitution and we cannot get anybody to set in the same room.

none of them, just like washington now, none of them will sit together and nobody will talk to each other. they are too angry and too afraid. but we need a constitution, sir, and you are the only one. because of george washington's honor and integrity, he was the only man in america who could stand in a room, and a room would fall silent just because of his presence. they knew they needed george washington. he did not want to go. he looked the man in the eye and said, have i not yet done enough for my country? and he slammed the door. 55-years-old. for the first time in his life, he said no. my time, my time, i want to be a farmer. and he walked back toward the stairs and in my minds eye, i

see him putting his hand on the banister of this their way as is about to go back up to bed. he did, most likely, what all of us do when we argue with god. because i believe i know what god said to him. no, sir. service to your country is not done. it is never finished. in particular, this country. how dare you, george, think you know what icon of the almighty, am going to do with what you have to do in philadelphia. i will tell you right now, because of what you will do in philadelphia, somebody in this country will invent the electric lightbulb and the refrigerator and soon, you will see pictures from one coast to another, and

soon, somebody else will think of a phone, and somebody else will think of a phone in your hand, and they will combine the television with the phone and you will be able to see moving pictures all around the globe the matter where you are. the smallest voice will be heard. someday, george, because you get off your butt and you finish the job and you do it right, men will walk on the moon. no, sir. your job is not finished. he turned around and got on his horse and that night, he wrote to philadelphia. he sat at the constitutional convention and listened to them bigger back and forth and at the very end, one state was a holdout, one state said, i am sorry, i need a dealmaker,

somebody that will help us. we need to cut some deals here. benjamin franklin, 81 at the time, the barely walk that his name was so great. he was on opium at the time. his pain was so great they actually had carry him in a chair covered with pillows because just his footsteps on the cobblestones would cause him crippling pain. he sat in that room all summer long listening to them and they finally said, gentlemen, we cannot do that now. we cannot sell out. we cannot have corruption. we cannot do it. look how far we have come and you know you have in the finger of god here he said, you know, we did not put the country together.

we did not defeat the british. god defeated the british. we were there to witness it. [applause] we must do this one thing right. they started bickering again and that one state which was the holdout was new york. [laughter] and new york was not going to budge. and the room fell silent when george washington shifted in his seat. and eventually, he stood. the room fell silent and he said, "let us raise the standard to which the wise and the honest can repair." now that's colonial speak. "let us raise the standard to which the wise and the honest can repair, for the event is in the hands of god. let us raise the standard. let us do this one thing right. so when there comes a time in america when we start to fall apart and people do not know which way to run, to which the wise and the honest can repair,

repair does not mean to fix it. it means the wise and the honest will run to it. let us finish this constitution without corruption. let's do this one thing in our life, pure. because there is going to call come a time when the wise and the honest will need to know where to run and they will need this document. this is that time [applause] and you are the wise and the honest. so back to this book. in his diary, george washington wrote, "signed the constitution today." , i picked up my copy quixote. otay -- don

i never understood that. it's like, changed the world, going to the bookstore. this is the book he picked up the day he signed the constitution. it has always puzzled me, how does this man do something that grand and then say, i am going to the bookstore. he did it because he knew they had done this one thing and they had done it right and they had done it with god. he prefilled everything the lord told him to do. do it right, do it with exactness. he knew that the event was going to be in the hand of god. he knew there would come a time the wise and the honest would have to run to the constitution.

but he had done his job. he had done it right, purely, with exactness. so now, it is up to us. i come to you as a citizen, not as a talkshow host, not as somebody watched on television. i come to you as a citizen. and i ask you, let us raise the standard to which the wise and the honest can repair. [applause] we have a profound responsibility because the constitution hangs by a thread. after school, i think the thread has been cut. last call, america. last call. who are we? who do we want to be? is god finished with these rights, or are there other things we cannot even imagine as we stand by our banister of life? are there things we cannot even imagine god will do with this freedom? it is our job to protect and defend the constitution of the

united states of america. [applause] thank you very much. [applause] i guess i am not done yet. the guy who is traveling with me right now, i guess he is not here yet. he was standing in the back. he has to know there is a difference. this means stretch, this means rap it up, and he was doing a little of this. [laughter] any questions from anyone? [laughter] honestly, let's take some questions.

>> [inaudible] glenn beck: i figured this book out because of going on tour. because of iowa. i was looking at people face to face and i was seeing people look and think. they are not mindless rubes. they are thinking and they are judging. i realized, this is it, this really is the time george washington foresaw. when i was in south carolina and i went door knocking, i got into the car afterwards and said, that cannot be helpful. how cannot make a difference at all? then i saw second-place came down to 500 votes. door knocking makes all the difference in the world. talking to your friends makes all the difference in the world. if everybody here got 10 people to go to caucus tomorrow, everybody here, you changed the election.

it is that small a margin. anybody who thinks they're too small and do not matter, you matter. >> on my birthday, my husband said [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] i was angry -- [inaudible] >> why don't you come up. come on. it is your anniversary. come on. will you take a picture for us? you are the next contestant on "the price is right."

>> i have seven children and six are voting and i have two grandbabies. [applause] thank you. [applause] glenn beck: ok, now he is serious, they are here. i am only here for the free food. the real speaker comes out here in a second, and i want to introduce somebody that you guys know. your attorney general, adam. sorry. for the love of pete.

i spoke to him yesterday. he is really truly one of the guys you should thank your lucky stars you have. there are very few republicans it seems in your state. adam is really a guy who is just dirt strong and not going to move and that is what we need. we need people like ted cruz no matter what the storm is, and adam, who will not move the -- gnome -- no matter what the storm is. that is what we need. ladies and gentlemen, adam. thank you. [applause] adam: a big round for glenn. what was his name again? thank you all very much, las vegas, for coming out today. i think we all know the stakes of the election. that is why you are here and we have had a record turnout in every state coming into nevada. the stakes could not be higher in our country. when i ran a race that could not

be won i ran as a constitutional , conservative, someone who could be a check to president obama. thank you. someone who could be a check to president obama's virtually unlimited trashing of the u.s. constitution. at every turn, we wake up and our constitution gets destroyed, our federal government gets bigger and less accountable, which, of course, hurts us here, 3000 miles away from washington, d.c. for me, getting involved in this presidential was really important. i wanted to find a candidate that was most going to be able to defend our constitution, protect our liberties. all of these things that are under assault, religious liberty, our second amendment rights, which many of you may know, there is a big decision with the supreme court a few years ago, a 5-4 decision that

told us what we have known for 225 years, that we do have a second amendment right to bear arms. [applause] let's think about that. one vote different and somehow, our constitution doesn't mean what it says. that is the stakes we have right now and we cannot afford to lose an election. for me, having someone grounded in the constitution, someone like ted cruz, who spent every day of his life working for the constitution, and little-known story, at age 13, he had memorized the constitution and towards the state of texas, telling texans how the constitution was the staple of the american public, what gave

us our liberties, what made us the country where for me, i come from sheepherders in nevada. ted cruz's father, as you may know, came from cuba with $100 in his pocket. this is the great american dream nation we have all fought for. many of us in places like iraq and afghanistan. we are now at a crossroads and ted cruz understands that our constitution is essential to our freedoms, to our liberty, and he is also someone who has argued nine cases in front of the u.s. supreme court. [applause] which is nine more than all 15 candidates then we have combined. he understands that we cannot

afford to get a supreme court justice wrong ever again. we cannot afford to get federal judges ever again. and how hard is this? we are looking for judges that uphold the constitution. and follow the law. we are looking for judges that do not make law from the bench. [applause] so ted cruz has pledged that he will personally interview every nominee for the u.s. supreme court. i have never heard that before from the president. if you did not know, he was actually a clerk for the chief justice of the supreme court in the beginning of his legal career. he is behind the curtains and knows what makes these guys tick. he is going to be interviewing to make sure we have someone with the fidelity of the constitution who will understand what a bedrock it is for all of us, for all of our liberty. if judges are making policy for

us, then none of us have any power. it is not our system. i firmly believe ted cruz is best situated to defend our constitution, to return back to what glenn beck was talking about, a nation of ordered liberty under a constitutional system with divided powers so that places like nevada, we can do our own destiny. we do not need to rely on washington to tell us our future. [applause] the next important thing for me, i served in iraq and i consider myself, i am 37 for those of you who do not know. i am part of this new generation that decided if we do not get into this fight, if we do not try to save the country now, where will we be in 10 years? at this rate, where will we be

in five years? it seems to be exponential. it is not just the room that feels that. it is millions of americans. even bernie sanders is tapping the same sentiment, of what is going on in washington, what are they doing to our country? i feel we need to elect the young conservative leadership that is going to lead our party in the right direction. i believe, like ronald reagan and my grandfather paul, who is the only u.s. senator to support ronald reagan for president when he ran against a sitting republican president, gerald ford, the reason they supported reagan is they thought he was going to be different. and they said reagan cannot be elected. he is too conservative. he is too bold and too strident. we all know how that story ended, right? we need that now, more than

ever. if we are going to face hillary for prison, or bernie sanders for socialism, we need someone who is going to be able to contrast sharply with the both of them. there is no smarter man in all of washington than ted cruz. [applause] the last piece of my reason for endorsing ted cruz goes back to the protection of this great country. we have seen an unprecedented amount of troubles around the world. why are we seeing such troubles? president obama began his tour as the president doing what? he firmly believes the only reason people don't like us, the reason people hate us, why? because we are not nice enough. we do not reach out enough.

if only we just were more diplomatic, the world would be a safer place. that was seven years ago. does anyone think the world is a safer place today? >> no! adam we have abandoned our : allies. i was in the navy, we are the smallest navy we have been in decades, the smallest air force, the smallest marine corps, the smallest army. i can tell you, there is nothing more gut wrenching than to see our marines and our army at the level they were 15 years ago doing six tours abroad. think about your husband or wife being gone for seven straight years of your family's lives. and somehow we are shrinking military at this time? it makes no sense. ted cruz is rebuilding our military.

he wants to get all four ranches to get to a level where we can do what reagan fought for, is called peace through strength. i firmly believe in us being strong does not make the world like us less, it is simply going to keep up. and we need that badly now. [applause]

so ted cruz has pledged, which is slightly different than the other candidates in the field, we need to use our military to protect our national interests. if we have threats abroad we need to call them out. radical islamic terrorism, that is what we face. and like ronald reagan calling out, what did he call out in the early 80's? the evil empire. until you can call out your enemy -- and by the way, he was panned by every single intellectual think tank media person, you can't call them the evil empire, we need to get along with these people. and he didn't budge an inch. and what happened? the berlin wall fell. the unimaginable happened. [applause] so ted cruz believes we need a strong military, we need to go in there and fight, but we do

not need to be in the business of nationbuilding. that is a step too far. and that is a trap we fell into. go in, win the battle, and don't try to change a region. for all these reasons, i think ted cruz is the guy that is perfectly situated to lead our party. he is that bold conservative, that consistent conservative that went to washington to represent millions of texans. and they sent him there to be a voice for conservative values. and has he budged an inch? he has not budged an inch. does that make you popular in washington? cruz is the guy that every day in washington has been fighting against the status quo.

and we need that now more than ever. [applause] make your decision here in the next 24 hours. we have the chance in nevada to cast our caucus ballot for who we want to represent our party in the future, who we want to go against hillary clinton and bernie sanders. and i submit to you there is no one better qualified, better prepared, and more intellectually capable to lead us in this general election. now i'm going to run a short video before we bring the man on. >> the first candidate to officially get in the race for president, no exploratory committee, no mulling the pros and cons, senator ted cruz from texas will announce tomorrow he is all in. >> today, i am announcing that i am running for president of the united states. [applause] ♪

>> ted cruz is the most conservative candidate running, the most consistently conservative candidate. >> i think ted cruz is a rock star. he is the conscience of a conservative and a senate that is less and cowardly. >> if you are looking for a candidate that is most opposed to liberalism, ted cruz. >> how about talking about the substantive issues? ♪ ♪ [applause]

[applause] >> and now i would like to introduce our next nominee for president of the united states, ted cruz. ♪ ["where the stars and stripes and eagle fly" plays]

♪ [applause] sen. cruz: god bless the great state of nevada. it is wonderful to be here today. thank you for coming out, let me say thank you to the men and women in nevada for electing a strong principled constitutionalist warrior like attorney adam laxalt.

adam's grandfather stood by ronald reagan when all of the people didn't want to see reagan go to washington. and when he ran, the entire political establishment did not want him to win. they fought against him with every tool they can, they came at him hard, but adam got elected by standing with courageous conservatives all across the state of nevada. and i proud that adam is a

friend, i am proud that he is sharing our campaign in the great state of nevada. and how about glenn beck? [applause] isn't he phenomenal? glenn -- [laughter] he is so passionate, he is so principled, he loves constitution. he loves freedom. and every time i hear him speak i learned something. when glenn pulls out his whiteboard, when he starts walking people through -- glenn is an educator. when he starts walking people through the principles of the framework of our constitution, the principles that build america, the principles of american exceptionalism, it it is one thing to say you want to make america great again. you may even print a baseball

cap with that written on it. it is another thing to understand the principle that made america great in the first place. [applause] and i will tell you, i'm so proud to be standing shoulder to shoulder with my friend glenn beck. [applause] you know you can learn a lot by looking at the history of a given word. if you look at look at politics, poli, meaning many, and ticks, meaning blood-sucking parasites. [laughter] [applause]

and that is a fairly accurate description of washington dc. we are joined today by my friend, california congressman dana rohrabacher. [applause] like nevada's paul laxalt, dana was with ronald reagan from the very beginning. one of my favorite stories about dana is that he went and camped out on ronald reagan's backyard, slept in his backyard before reagan was elected to anything, came and just said, mr. reagan i want to work for you. and they were sending him away, what are you doing, who is this guy he echo ronald reagan said, hold on, if he slept in my backyard and let me at least talk to him.

and he became one of ronald reagan's key speechwriters. for many years he has represented the state of california in congress and he is a man who values liberty and the constitution more than going along to get along in washington. [applause] there is a reason dana and i both need food tasters in the dining room. [laughter] and i will say one of the striking things, if you look at the people, the courageous conservatives that have come together behind our campaign, whether it is dana, whether it is adam, whether it is glenn, the consistent pattern is that these are men and women who love this country and are committed to the constitution, and are willing to speak the truth no matter what the price.

the truth has power. and speaking the truth with a smile drives washington crazy. >> [indiscernible] sen. cruz: thank you, sir. i tell you, i could not be more optimistic than i am right now. everyone is here today because our country is in crisis, because we are bankrupting our kids and grandkids, because our constitutional rights are under assault each and every day, and because america has receded from leadership in the world and it has made the world a much more dangerous place. and yet, in spite of all of that i'm here with a word of hope and encouragement. all across this country people are waking up. sometimes things have to get to

really bad to startle people out of their slumber, and i want to tell you there is a spirit of awakening that is sweeping this country. [applause] so i want to ask everyone here to look forward, look forward to january 2017. [applause] if i'm elected president, let me tell you what i intend to do on the first day in office. the first thing i intend to do is rescind every single illegal and unconstitutional executive action taken by this president. [applause] the second thing i intend to do on the first day in office is

instruct the u.s. department of justice to open an investigation into planned parenthood and prosecute any and any and all criminal convictions. [applause] the third thing i intend to do in the first day in office -- on the first day in office is instruct the irs and every other federal agency that the persecution of religious liberty ends today. that means that every service man and woman has a right to seek out and worship god

almighty with all of their hearts, minds, and souls, and their superior officer has nothing to say about it. [applause] the fourth thing i intend to do is rip to shreds this catastrophic iranian nuclear deal. [applause] and the fifth thing i intend to do on the first day in office is begin the process of moving the american embassy in israel to jerusalem, the once eternal capital of israel. [applause] now that's day one.

in the days that follow i will nominate a strong principled constitutionalist to replace justice antonine scalia on the justice court. [applause] just two days ago i had the privilege of attending justice scalia's funeral. justice scalia was a lion of the law. he was something i knew personally for 20 years. he was brilliant, he was passionate, he was a voluble italian.

his wife, maureen, is irish. and let me tell you, being myself cuban, irish, and italian, that is a dangerous combination. but justice scalia loved the constitution and spent three decades fighting to defend the constitution on the supreme court each and every day. as ronald reagan was to the presidency, so too was justice scalia to the supreme court. [applause] and his passing underscores the stakes of this election. it is not one branch of government, but two that hang in the balance.

we are one liberal justice away from the supreme court to mandating unlimited abortion on demand all across this country with no restrictions whatsoever. we are one liberal justice away from the supreme court reading the second amendment out of the bill of rights. let me tell you, justice scalia's most significant majority opinion was heller versus the district of columbia. i know that case very well because i represented 31 states and heller defending the second amendment rights to keep and bear arms, and we won 5-4. [applause] 5-4, we were one justice away from the court concluding that no individual here has any individual rights to keep and bear arms whatsoever. in texas before i was in the senate, we defended the 10 commandments monument on the state ground, we went to the

supreme court and we won 5-4. [applause] we are one liberal justice away from the supreme court commanding 10 commandment monuments being torn down all across this country. and i will tell you the most significant case, i argued as solicitor general in a case that involved a tragic crime in my hometown of houston where two teenaged girls were horribly assaulted and murdered by a gang. one of those gang members was an illegal immigrant who confessed to the crime in grisly details. but the case took a strange turn, because the world court, the judicial arm of the united

nations, issued an order to the united states to reopen the convictions of 51 murderers in this country. never before has any foreign court tried to bind the u.s. justice system. texas stood up and we fought the world's court and the united nations. [applause] i argued this case twice in front of the u.s. supreme court and on the other side was the world court, was the united nations, was 90 foreign nations. my wife and i met back in 2000 working on the bush campaign. we were one of eight marriages that came out of that campaign.

[laughter] so a lousy joke i have told many times, whatever anyone else says about george w. bush, in our house he will always be a uniter and not a divider. [laughter] [applause] but in this instance president bush received some poor advice and he signed a two paragraph order that ordered the state courts to obey the world court. i tell you, it was an interesting conversation i had with my boss at the time, attorney general greg abbott, now the governor of texas. it was an unusual thing for texas to be opposing the president of the united states for the supreme court, particularly when that president was a texan, was a republican,

was our former governor, and was a friend. and yet i'm proud to tell you that twice i went before the u.s. supreme court and argued neither the world court nor the united nations had any jurisdictions in the united states of america. [applause] and number two, no president, democrat or republican, has the constitutional authority to give away u.s. sovereignty. [applause] and we won, 6-3. in the final iteration of the

case, it dropped down to 5-4. we were one justice away from the supreme court concluding that the united nations and the world court can bind our justice system. we are one justice away from the supreme court subjecting us to international law and taking away sovereignty, which rests in one place and one place only, we the people. and i think justice scalia's passing has elevated the assessment that the men and women of nevada are making. as you look at the very fine individuals standing on that debate stage, the question i ask that i believe the people of nevada are asking is who do i know? beyond a shadow of a doubt, who do i know will nominate strong conservative justices that will protect my rights? and i give you my word that

every justice i a point to the supreme court will be a principled constitutionalist who will ferociously defend the bill of rights for your children and my children. [applause] in the days that follow, i will go to congress and we will repeal every word of obamacare. [applause] we will pass commonsense health care reform that makes health insurance personable, and affordable, and keeps government from getting between us and our doctors. i will instruct the u.s. department of education that common core ends today.

[applause] and we will finally, finally, finally secure the borders and end sanctuary cities. [applause] let me talk to all the men and women here in nevada that are facing struggling economic situations, that are facing a lack of jobs, that are seeing their hours forcibly reduced to part-time, that are seeing their wages stagnating rather than going up. illegal immigration is a

powerful anchor pulling down wages of working americans, taking away jobs. and i will tell you, of the individuals on that stage i am the only person who led the fight against amnesty and will secure the borders and protect the jobs of the american people. [applause] in the days that follow, we will rebuild our military. and we will honor the commitments made to every soldier and sailors and airmen and marine. that includes fundamentally reforming the v.a. so every

veteran has the right to choose his or her doctor. [applause] that includes protecting the second amendment right to keep and bear arms of every servicemen and women. [applause] and one of the most shameful aspects of the last seven years was the president, over and over again, sending our fighting men and women into combat, with rules of engagement that tie their arms behind their back and make it impossible for them to win. mark my words, on january 2017 that will end.

[applause] america has always been reluctant to engage in military conflict, we are slow to anger. but when military force is needed, we should use overwhelming force, kill the enemy, and get out. [applause] in the days that follow we will take on the epa and the blm and the cfpb, and the alphabet soup of federal agencies that have descended like locusts on farmers and small businesses, killing jobs across this country. [applause]

>> [indiscernible] sen. cruz: thank you, sir for being here. thank you for expressing your views. one of the great things about the first amendment is it allows bernie sanders supporters to come to our events. you have a right to express your views, but at the same time 85% of the state of nevada is owned by the federal government. that will end if i am president of the united states. [applause]

there is no reason on earth the federal government should be the largest landlord in the united states of america. [applause] in texas the federal government owns 2% of the land and we think that is 2% too much. and you have my commitment as president we will transfer that federal land back to the state and back to the people of nevada. [applause] and i would note that is an issue on which mr. trump and i disagree. mr. trump has said he thinks the federal government should continue to control that land, to own that land. i trust the people of nevada

more than the bureaucrats in washington. [applause] and in the days that follow, i will go to congress, and we will pass a simple flat tax. so that every american can fill out our taxes on a postcard. and when we do that, we should abolish the irs. [applause] you know, the media tries to tell us that the obama-clinton economy is the new normal. that stagnation is what we should come to expect, that there is nothing better. we have the lowest percentage of americans working today since 1977. wages have been frozen for 20 years, wages today are the same

as they were in 1996. that is driven by a legal immigration that washington refuses to solve, and that is driven by economic policy that hammered the living daylights out of small businesses. small businesses are the heart of the economy. you want to stagnation, hammer them like we have the last seven years. if you want economic growth, unchain small businesses and we will see economic growth. [applause] single moms struggling to feed their kids, working two, 3, 4 part-time jobs, because obamacare doesn't let them work full-time.

seeing their wages driven down, all of that can turn around. and if we do that two major legislative initiatives i'm campaigning on, if we repeal obamacare and pass a flat tax, we will save millions and millions of high paying jobs. people are struggling to achieve the american dream. for me, just like you, the american dream is personal. it is not something we read about in a school book. it is personal to our lives and our families. for me i think about my dad. my dad was born and raised in cuba. he was imprisoned and tortured in cuba. as a teenager my father found himself on the floor of a cuban

jail cell, covered in mud and blood and grime. his nose was broken and his teeth were shattered out of his mouth. he remembered thinking, i don't have any kids. it doesn't matter if i live or if i die. but thankfully god had different plans for my father. he was released from that jail cell and he fled to america, coming here in 1957. he was just 18 years old, had $100 in his underwear. and he got a job washing dishes, making $.50 per hour. he worked seven days a week, he paid his way through school. he and my mom went on to start a small business. i grew up in texas as the son of two small business owners. i saw the ups and downs and triumphs of running a family business. today my dad is a pastor, he travels the country preaching the gospel. [applause]

when i was a kid, my dad used to say to me over and over again, "when we faced oppression in cuba, i had a place to flee to." if we lose our freedom here, where do we go? it is an interesting comment the gentleman made, the liberals can go to cuba. you know, obama is going to cuba. it would be nice if he just

decided to stay. [applause] i mean, if he is trying to turn america into a communist dictatorship, there is one just 90 miles away. i am reminded of a comment ronald reagan made during the cold war. something liberals never seemed to notice, on the berlin wall, all the machine guns were facing one direction. no one was fleeing freedom saying let me into the oppression of communism. let me tell you all the idiots, if a category, whether it is the media, whether it is the academy, all the youthful idiots that lionize the paradise that is cuba, have you noticed all the rafts are going in one direction?

show me one person in the florida keys that turns an automobile into a boat and heads south. freedom is real, and it is what we are fighting for, and some of you may wonder if we can do it. you know, scripture tells us there is nothing new under these done. i think where we are today is very, very much like the 1970's, like be jimmy carter administration. same failed economic situation,

same feckless and naïve foreign policy. in fact, the exact same countries, russia and iran, openly laughing at and mocking the president of the united states. now, why is it that that analogy gives me so much hope and optimism? it is because we know how that story ends. country,s this millions of men and women rose up and became the reagan revolution. and it did not come from washington. washington despised ronald reagan. by the way, do you know which candidate will take on washington? just ask